Following practice Thursday evening, York High football coach Doug Pereira asked to see the hands of returning starters from last year.
“Five guys raised their hand,” Pereira said. “I said to myself, ‘oh god… I didn’t even realize most of these guys have never experienced a York-Tabb rivalry before.’”
It’s a good thing most of Tabb’s players hadn’t either, as a young York team held on the beat an even younger Tigers squad 14-7 at Bailey Field Friday night.
Had one or two plays gone slightly differently for Tabb, things could have gotten a lot more interesting.
The only offense in the first half came on a perfectly executed option play in which York quarterback Austin Norman pitched to Tywaun Lewis, who went 69 yards untouched down the left sideline for a touchdown.
After the Tigers (0-3, 0-2 Bay Rivers) put together a quality drive right out of the second-half gate to tie the game 7-7, Tabb’s defense immediately forced York into a 4th and long situation from inside the Falcons’ own 20, but instead of getting the ball back in prime field position, the Tigers were flagged for running into the kicker, which resulted in an automatic first down.
The Falcons answered by driving 11 more plays downfield for the go-ahead – and eventual game-winning – touchdown.
“If a few things go differently, who knows,” Tabb coach Matt Lawson said after the game. “You’re not going to win many games with three turnovers, but our defense did an excellent job tonight not letting [York] convert any of those [turnovers] into points.
“But York made some mistakes too and gave us some chances. They were just able to not let theirs cost them as ours cost us tonight.”
After rushing for over 550 yards in their first two games against Greensville (W 49-17) and Warhill (W 34-8), the Falcons (3-0, 2-0 Bay Rivers) managed only 190 yards on the ground and 234 total yards of offense.
“Part of it was us not getting it done, but a lot of it was what they did to us,” Pereira said of his offensive execution while pointing across the field to where Tabb was still in its post-game huddle.
“Their record doesn’t speak of what they’re doing out there,” Pereira added of Tabb, who fell to 0-3 on the season. “That’s a solid football team.”
Tabb (0-3, 0-2 Bay Rivers) entered the game significantly undersized up front – bodies like York’s Cody Hendrickson (6’3/255), Johnny Cruz (6’5/310) and Samontae Bailey (6’5/315) can put most teams at a disadvantage – which had Lawson thinking it could be a long day in the trenches for his inexperienced group.
But thanks to guys like nose guard Dameon Miller, defensive end Colin Hawkes, Josh Hopingardner and Ben Wilke, the Tigers matched the Falcons’ intensity and made all four of York’s backs work for every yard.
“York has a lot of guys who can run the ball and some big boys up front too,” Lawson said. “To be honest, I was worried coming in that they were just going to be able to shove us back into our linebackers, but our line stepped up and played much harder than I anticipated. They did an awesome job, and I’m excited for them.”
There was little offense the entire first half except for Lewis’ 69-yard scamper midway through the first quarter on a well-designed option play.
With York leading 7-0 at the half, Tabb’s offense came onto the field in the second half and answered immediately.
A Daniel Schiele (5-10, 33 yards) dump pass to Brent Hinson got the Tigers inside York territory before running back Jake Brown powered his way 15 yards up the gut for the game-tying touchdown.
On the Falcons’ ensuing drive, Tabb’s defense stopped two running plays at the line of scrimmage and forced an incomplete pass, which set up fourth down and 15 after a York penalty. On the punt, however, the Tigers were flagged for roughing the kicker. That gave the Falcons new life, and Marcus Wakelyn made the most of it taking four handoffs for 25 yards, the last a 12-yard touchdown run to put York back on top, 14-7.
“That penalty was more costly than the option they scored in the first quarter,” Lawson said.
Tabb got one last chance late in the fourth quarter, but with time running out and the Tigers still at midfield, York’s Devin Campbell intercepted Schiele’s pass downfield to put the game away.
“Tonight was about survival,” Pereira said. “I’m proud of my guys for getting it done at the end, but it was certainly by no means easy.”
York 14 Tabb 7
York- 0 7 7 0 – 14
Tabb- 0 0 7 0 – 7
Second Quarter
York- Lewis 69 yard run (Strack kick)
Third Quarter
Tabb- Brown 15 yard run (Englund kick)
York- Wakelyn 12 yard run (Strack kick)
York;Tabb
First Downs: 12;9
Rushes-yards: 33-195; 38-146
Passing yards: 36; 33
Comp-att-int: 4-10-0; 5-10-1
Penalties-yards: 9-60; 4-20
Fumbles-lost: 1-0; 3-1
